PIMCO Active Bond Exchange-Traded Fund

BOND

Market cap $5.94B

PIMCO Active Bond ETF offers active, diversified fixed-income exposure with a focus on risk control and long-term income and capital appreciation. Current market conditions favor agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS), as their premium over investment-grade corporates is historically attractive, supporting an overweight in MBS. MBS have demonstrated defensive characteristics during equity market downturns, providing stability and income when most needed in a portfolio.

BOND has nearly doubled its AUM to $5.5 billion in the past two years and has outperformed its actively managed peers and passive benchmark. The fund primarily invests in investment-grade MBS bonds and Treasuries, with a portfolio duration of 6.5 years, placing it in the intermediate duration category. While BOND's annualized volatility of 7.4% is higher than the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index's 5%, its superior total return performance suggests that the active management's risk-taking has been justified.

VettaFi sat down with Jerome Schneider, PIMCO's Head of Short-Term Strategies, at Exchange. Schneider discussed the potential benefits of active management and PIMCO's priorities in the space.

PIMCO Active Bond Exchange-Traded Fund ETF is in focus as a volatile credit environment sets the scene for active bond management. BOND ETF's commentary suggests it remains committed to intermediate term treasuries, CLOs, and RMBS. Moreover, recent enterprise-wide commentary suggests that PIMCO is seeking EU exposure. We support intermediate-to-long-term U.S. treasury and CLO exposure. However, we highlight risks in RMBS and dislike the vehicle's disregard of investment grade corporate credit.

Bond market volatility has surged, with yields moving from near zero to multi-decade highs, creating a complex credit environment. PIMCO's actively managed BOND ETF offers a diversified portfolio with a focus on intermediate maturities, outperforming passive funds like BND over the past decade. Active management by PIMCO has consistently delivered superior returns, leveraging market insights and flexibility to navigate economic changes.

The Federal Reserve's recent rate cut and potential future cuts are expected to benefit bonds, real estate, and dividend stocks by lowering borrowing costs and increasing asset values. We revisit the four ETF portfolio, focusing on near-term rate cuts. The portfolio of these ETFs yields an average of 4.1% with a low expense ratio, positioning investors to capitalize on anticipated rate cuts.

BOND is a diversified bond ETF from PIMCO. It focuses on high-quality, investment-grade securities, mostly MBS. It sports an above-average 4.6% yield, and has slightly outperformed its benchmark since inception.

With the Federal Reserve signaling it could cut rates as soon as September, investors may want to start adjusting their fixed income strategies now.

Money markets, mortgages & active management: New nuances of the bond market.

Now may be the ideal time to prepare client portfolios for rate cuts. The Federal Reserve has confirmed it is closer to its first rate cut.